re: 'If all goes well...' Titanic victim's letter expected to sell for thousands

quote:

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had not previously heard this story, but a couple of thoughts immediately come to mind... 

1) It seems like there wouldn't only be one key to the Crow's Nest equipment locker. 
2) If there was only one key, and they were unable/unwilling to force the lock, you'd think the world's largest passenger liner would have an extra pair of binoculars laying around somewhere.

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And your logic is not flawed.

My assumptions when I first read it: 1) of course there were other pairs of binocs on board, and he made do with them. I mean, how silly.
2) locking the binocs up suggests they were too valuable (powerful/important/pricey) to be risked hauling up and down the mast. NOT to be entrusted to men not trained to handle them properly. Since such steps were taken to protect them, logical they were the only pair capable of that ???x magnification on board; no back-up of equal power was deemed necessary, cost-effective, or both.